Just Ducky
A backyard pond was the perfect place for these ducklings to grow and thrive
Living in the rural Kawartha Lakes area, we see our fair share of wildlife and often find ourselves lending a hand when necessary. My husband and I help manage beaver populations along the railroad tracks, and during a long, wet walk into the bush one day, we came across three baby ducks that were stuck between the tracks.
Finding baby ducks along the railroad tracks is a common occurrence, as the mother duck can easily make her way up and over the tracks while the smaller ducklings are not as capable. We’ve often helped ducklings return to their mother but this time the mother duck was nowhere in sight. We decided to bring these little guys to our backyard pond, but needed to figure out how we were going to get them home.
With a truck full of supplies and little room to work with, the baby ducks got a cozy ride on the passenger seat in a large wooden box. Bringing the ducks home was exciting because we have four amazing children who take pride in tending to animals on our farm and it was no different with the baby ducks. The kids worked hard to gather materials to make a small shelter and filled it with leftover hay.
We named the ducks Huey,
Dewey and Louie. Every morning, the kids would grind up corn in the blender and take it down to feed the trio. Soon the ducks were comfortable in their environment and began to venture out around the yard. We all enjoyed watching them waddle through the long grass, learning to catch bugs and other critters.
As they got larger, we were also able to watch them learn to fly across the pond. Finally one sunny afternoon, Huey, Dewey and Louie were ready to soar; we watched as they headed south in preparation for winter.
We’re all curious to see if they will make their way back to our pond in the future.
Can you find it? It could be anywhere, but it’s not the one below! If you spot the loonie, tell us in which issue and on what page on a postcard, or in a letter, and mail your entry to “Spot the Loonie” Contest, P.O. Box 975, STN Main, Markham, Ont., L3P 0K7. Or join the fun online by visiting ourcanada.ca and clicking on “Spot the Loonie.” We’ll collect all the entries and have a drawing every other month. The first five correct entries we draw will win $50. Entries will be accepted until July 31, 2020.
For complete rules, write to “Spot the Loonie” Contest, Reader’s Digest Contest Administrators Office, 5101 Rue Buchan, Suite 300, Montreal, Que., H4P 1S4. This contest is open to all Canadian residents who, at the time of participation, have reached the age of majority according to the law of the province or territory in which they reside. One entry per person, per day is allowed.
In the January issue, we hid the loonie on page 17 within the feature “The Coat Project.” We’ll publish our latest winning loonie-spotters in an upcoming issue.
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